Ice and Paint
by Jane H.A.S. Doe
Summary: Please don't use the word love around me. Reason 1: you don't know how to use it. You don't know what love is. Reason 2: every time you say the word love, I think of Momo, quiet painter & my best friend. What I'd really like to know is why.[HitsuHina]
1. In Gym

_**Ice and Paint**  
By: Jane H.A.S. Doe_

It was Wednesday.

Momo was just walking out of the changing room. As if on cue, Rukia and Inoue came up to her.

"Hi, Momo!" Inoue didn't hesitate to surround Momo in a big hug.

"H-hi, Inoue," Momo gasped. "I can't breathe!"

"Inoue, let her go." Rukia said calmly. "We've got to get to class?" The girls quickly gathered around their coach, Coach Ito, to get instructions.

"Hello, girls." Coach Ito smiled at all of her students. "Today we'll be playing one of my personal favorites: dodgeball." A groan rose through the crowd. "What? You guys don't like dodgeball?" Everybody shook there heads simultaneously.

Coach Sato, a much meaner coach, glared at the girls. "Too bad! Now get to stretchin'!" It was a rule at Karakura High that you had to stretch before every activity, even one as simple as dodge ball. The staff of Karakura High was known to be paranoid about safety. Once, in Momo's freshman year, instead of baseball everybody had to play wiffle ball.

"So, Momo," Rukia said. "I'm having a party Saturday. Wanna come?"

"A party? Byakuya-sama actually let you have a _party_?"

"Onii-sama? Of _course_ he would never let me have a party!" Rukia looked at Momo as if it was the dumbest question in the world. "But he's away on business in Australia or somewhere. He won't be back until next Wednesday."

"He let you stay home alone?" Momo began to touch her toes. She didn't want to feel the wrath of Coach Sato if she was caught not stretching.

"Sure. Why wouldn't he?" Rukia asked. Momo just shrugged. She sat on the floor and began doing hurdle stretches.

"Who's all gonna be there?"

"Eh...just my closest friends." She said, dismissively. "Y'know...Ichigo, Inoue, Kira, Tatsuki, Uryuu, Chad, Keigo, Mizuiro...just people."

"Hmm...okay. I'll be there."

"Cool."

"Alright, girls! That's enough!" Coach Ito smiled. "I'm going to separate you into teams now, all right?"

Coach Ito went around the gym calling out people randomly and telling them what team to be on.

"Kuchiki-san: Team One. Hinamori-san: Team Two." Momo rushed to join the rest of the team.

Momo immediately knew she was going to lose. Team Two might have had a shot at winning the spelling bee or something, but they were helplessly done for in dodgeball. Momo looked over at Team One. Not only did they have Rukia and Tatsuki, but they also had members of the swim team and soccer team.

Coach Ito tossed Momo and a few other girls rubber balls.

Coach Sato blew her whistle. "GO!" All the girls quickly obliged.

As Momo predicted, Team Two was not at all good at dodgeball. Team One threw the dodgeballs hard, trying to get everyone out. It had only been five minutes and already half of Team Two was out. The remainder of the team ran around screaming their heads off.

Momo didn't bother to play the game. Instead she just stood there, watching the game progress and dodging balls when necessary.

That's when he came.

_Who's that?_ Momo thought. _He must be new._

He was a vision of perfection. He was gorgeous without being prettified. Muscular without being gross. His hair was such a perfect silver, you'd spend ages trying to replicate it in a salon. And his eyes! They were such a beautiful shade of turquoise.

He didn't walk, he strutted with confidence. Even when he was apparently lost.

Momo sighed. _He looked so cute confused._

As he looked around, his eyes locked with hers. He smiled when he saw her staring at him. Momo blushed and quickly began looking at the clock behind him. The boy seemed not to have noticed her sudden interest in the time. Instead, he walked—I mean, strutted— over to the nearest coach, which happened to be Coach Ito.

Momo strained to here what they were saying. There was a lot of laughing involved. Besides the laughter, Momo heard zilch. After the conversation was over, the boy shook hands with Coach Ito and left.

Momo felt a bit disappointed when he left. Which is kind of weird seeing as she didn't even know him that well.

_What's his name anyway? _Momo wondered._ Aargh! I don't even know that!_

Momo groaned at her stupidity. Why'd she have to act like such an idiot? All he did was smile! She stomped her foot angrily.

"Hey, Hinamori!" Momo froze. She hadn't realized that the game was still going on. How much had she missed? She turned around, wondering who was calling her.

Atsuko, a member of both the soccer team and Team One, was holding a dodgeball in her hand. Before Momo could retaliate, Atsuko threw the ball and yelled her infamous war cry.

"Think fast!"

But Momo couldn't think fast. It's hard to think at all when a dodgeball comes in contact with your head.

"""""""

"Mom, I'm not well enough to do the dishes." Momo whined.

"Hmm?" Momo's mother seemed surprised to hear this. "Really? How so?"

Momo slapped her hands on the table, exasperated. "I was hit in the head, _remember_?"

"You were hit in the head with a _dodgeball_. Thrown by a _classmate_."

"The classmate in question is on steroids." Her mom gave her a look. "I swear! It's a miracle I wasn't hospitalized. Or worse, decapitated!" She sighed dramatically. "It was terribly gruesome."

Momo's mother sighed and began doing the dishes.

"Arigatou! Thanks so much, mom!" Momo gave her mom a hug and then rushed upstairs.

The second she got to her room, she jumped on her bed and dialed Rukia's number from memory.

"Yeah?" Rukia said when she answered the phone.

"Hey."

"Oh...hi, Momo. I was just about to call you. How's your head?"

"My head's fine, but my _ego_? Not so much."

"But it was pretty funny wasn't it?" Momo could hear Rukia trying not to laugh.

"No! I'm scarred for life! That's not what I wanna talk to you about anyway."

"Listening."

"Did you see that guy in the gym?"

"Huh? Oh, the white-haired kid. Yeah. Actually, I got Ichigo to ask him to eat lunch with us. If the new kid's nice I just might invite him to my party. Why?"

Momo's heart skipped a beat. Why? She couldn't tell Rukia why. _She_ didn't even know why. Why _was_ she so interested in the white-haired boy?

"Um...no reason. Talk to ya later!" Momo hung up the phone before Rukia could even say goodbye.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_There's a new kid at our school. He's cute. He's got turquoise eyes. He's also got white hair. Rukia invited him to eat lunch with us tomorrow. I'm going to talk to him then. At least I'll find out his name.  
__Omigod...what if I spaz out? What if he thinks I'm an idiot? What if I get something stuck in my teeth? What if I trip? What if he hates me?  
Maybe I shouldn't go to school tomorrow, Dear Diary.  
MOMO_

"""""""

I'll be back with the next chapter later.  
Until then review, review, review!


	2. Her Interview

_**Ice and Paint**  
By: Jane H.A.S. Doe_

_**A shout out to:**  
DeathSkater  
Winter's Light  
cetc  
Chika-Rin _

_**Thanks for reviewing my story!**  
_

**CHAPTER TWO  
**"Oi, Momo!" Momo turned to find Rukia running towards her.

"Hey, Rukia."

"Momo, I got something for you." Rukia slapped a sheet of paper into Momo's hands. Momo looked at it and then at Rukia.

"Read it! It's a notice I found on the bulletin board."

_**HELP WANTED**  
__ Artist seeks part-time assistant. Help needed three or four afternoons a week.Duties will include helping take photographs, light brushwork, cleaning and organizing equipment, and mixing colors. Must be able to paint and sketch well. Must be responsible. Pay is 7 dollars an hour plus expenses._ _Contact at __(03) 5556-1311._

Momo smiled as she finished reading. "Oh my god! Did you read this?"

"Why do you think I gave this to you? Of course I read it. I think you should apply for the job."

"What if this artist doesn't think qualified?"

"Of course you're qualified! This artist only has to meet you to realize that. Call and set up an appointment. I guarantee that in five minutes you'll have the job."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so." Rukia whipped out her cell phone and handed it to Momo. "Call now." So Momo did so quickly, since they _did_ have classes to get to.

"""""""

Momo didn't see Rukia again until lunch, the part of the day she had been both hoping for and dreading.

_Why'd Rukia have to go and invite the new kid?_ Momo thought, her teeth clenched. She trembled—yes, _trembled_—as she walked over towards the tree she and her friends sat at to eat.

Tatsuki was sitting there talking to the new kid when Momo arrived.

"'Sup, Momo." Tatsuki said as Momo sat down. "This is Histsugaya-kun."

"Please, call me Toushirou." Toushirou held out his hand for Momo to shake.

Momo blushed. "And call me Momo."

_Hmm...Hitsugaya Momo... _Momo blushed even deeper. _Hitsugaya Momo? How much more grade school could you get?_

"Hey, guys!" Inoue waved at them, as she walked closer. Ichigo and Rukia were right behind her. Mizuiro, Keigo, and Renji brought up the rear.

"Hey, new kid." Rukia called before sitting down next to Tatsuki. She studied Toushirou very closely.

"What school did you go to before you came here?"

"Mizusaido."

"Why'd you move here?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"O...kay..." Rukia cleared her throat. "Anyway...what do you like to do?"

Toushirou brightened. "Rock and ice climb. I love to climb."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Momo could tell Rukia was intrigued. He was going to the party for sure.

"""""""

Right after school ended, Momo headed over to her new job. On the phone, the lady she was talking to gave her directions.

It was a house relatively close to the school, so Momo got there pretty quickly.

When Momo reached the door, she knocked on it.

The door opened with a creak. Momo's head went down in a polite bow.

"Hello! My name is Hinamori Momo. I'm applying for the position as artist's assistant. Are you Matsumoto-sama?" Momo's eyes remained on her shoes.

"Ah, Hinamori-san! Come in, come in! Don't mind the mess; I haven't finished unpacking. Oh, and please stop bowing."

Momo raised her head. Matsumoto had already turned her back to Momo and walked inside. From what Momo could see, Matsumoto had long orangish-blonde hair. She wasn't that tall, about 170 cm, but she was taller than Momo.

Momo turned her attention to the rest of the room. It was indeed a mess. Cardboard boxes stood in untidy towers. The floor was littered with takeout food. It seemed only a couch and a very large TV were unpacked.

"This way, this way!" Matsumoto-sama called from another room. Momo hurried to follow her.

Momo arrived in a room that she assumed was Matsumoto-sama's art room. The room was completely unpacked; there wasn't a cardboard box in sight. But that doesn't mean it wasn't messy. Momo tried to hide her distaste.

"Come. Sit down." Matsumoto-sama pointed to an old wooden chair. Momo, sat, praying that it wouldn't break. It didn't. Matsumoto-sama sat opposite of her in a chair that looked a _lot_ more comfortable.

"So..." Matsumto-sama said. "Tell me about yourself."

"_Ano_...I was born June 3rd, I'm 15 years old, I weigh 41 kg–"

"Sorry. I meant things about you relative to _art_."

_Duh! You're applying to be her art assistant. Momo, she wouldn't care about your birthday._

"Yeah, okay. I won my first art competition when I was seven; I painted a picture of a tree. Sometimes I go to the park and paint people's portraits for free. Ano..." Momo tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully.

"That's okay. I have to go, so...I think the interview is over. I'll call you if you got the job." Matsumoto-sama ushered Momo to the front door. "Bye!"

Momo heard the door close behind her. She groaned.

_Aww man..._ Momo thought sadly. _I blew it._

""""""

This really wasn't all that long. Sorry...

The next chapter will be about Rukia's party.

And also...why do so many people view my story and then nobody reviews it? Review, people, review!


	3. At the Party

**Ice & Paint, Chapter 3  
**_By: Jane H.A.S. Doe  
_  
**Setting:** Rukia's house, at the party  
**The Guest List:** Soifon, Izuru, Isane, Hanatarou, Momo, Renji, Shuuhei, Toushirou, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Kiyone, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, Uryuu, Keigo, Mizuiro, Chizuru, Ichigo, Rukia  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach. I never will.

**A shout-out to:**  
twinkle-twilight  
Armageddon Angel  
Real-Kill  
micca  
NekoMercury  
theazndudeguy  
waterlily  
Cryptic Innocence  
metamorphis  
rainingblood666  
DeathSkater  
_Keep reviewing, please!_

**Chapter 3:  
**"Oh, Momo! I'm glad you're early! I need help setting up." Rukia said as she opened the door. She ushered Momo in. "Take off you're shoes over there."

After Momo was shoeless, she was led into the den.

Ichigo and Renji were already there. Inoue sat in corner by the stereo looking through the Kuchiki CD collection for songs worthy of playing at the party. Tatsuki was leaning against the wall looking extremely bored. Uryuu sat in an armchair, reading. Momo put her knapsack down on the couch. Rukia cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her.

"Hello, team. Glad you could all make it. Operation: Best Party in the Universe is about to begin." She walked around the room, letting her words sink in. "Ichigo, Renji, could you guys move the furniture around? We can't have a couch in the middle of the floor, can we?"

"Uryuu and Tatsuki, could you guys head to the store? I need you to make the popcorn and stuff?"

Inoue pouted. "But I wanted to be in charge of food."

Uryuu coughed rather loudly, as if trying to cover up a laugh. Everyone in the room knew that Inoue was a bad cook. "Um...of course not! You can't be in charge of food!...Because...I have a special job for you?" She ended it off like it was a question; like she wasn't actually sure she had a job for Inoue.

"Really?"

"Yeah...You're our...official...greeter. If the doorbell rings...you're the one to answer it and lead everyone here. Could you do that?"

"Yeah!" No sooner had Inoue responded than the doorbell rang.

"See, Inoue? You got your first customer. Go get 'em, tiger."

""""""

After everyone else got jobs to do, there wasn't really anything left for Momo and Rukia. So, they just bossed everyone else around and told them how to their jobs.

"_Blech!_ Tatsuki, what do you call that? _Food_? I do _not_ think so."

"Renji! Where the heck did you get the idea of putting the couch in front the door? Move it!"

"Does that _look_ like a refreshment table, Uryuu?"

"Ichigo! Get you're feet off the coffee table!"

The only one the two were happy with was Inoue, who was dutifully answering the door. At the moment, Inoue was showing Chizuru and Keigo the den. Chizuru had one hand draped around Inoue's shoulder.

There were a few more people at the party than Rukia said there would be. Among them were Yumichika, Isane, Ikkaku, and Hanatarou. Oh...and of course, Toushirou.

Toushirou was standing in on corner talking to Ichigo and Isane. Ichigo and Toushirou were explaining that their hair was completely natural. Ichigo grabbed hold of Toushirou's hair and nearly pulled it out showing Isane that the roots were white. Isane argued they could've easily touched their hair up before the party.

Momo sat on the couch talking to Rukia. Okay...sneaking glances at Toushirou while _pretending_ to listen.

"Did you here about the fight at school today? It was between these two seniors. Seniors! Can you believe it?" Momo shook her head absentmindedly.

"I think they're both suspended. That's the punishment for fighting, right?" Momo nodded.

"Momo, are you listening?"

Momo snapped to attention. "Huh? Yeah...I am."

"No, you're not! What are you _staring_ at?"

"I was...there was...it's just that...uh..." Momo fumbled for a good excuse. "Never mind."

Rukia shook her head as she made her way to where Tatsuki was standing. She didn't have time to watch Momo to stare at the wall. It was a party!

""""""

"Alright," Rukia said. Everyone in the room was gathered in a circle around her. She squatted and placed a soda bottle on the floor. "The name of the game is 7 Minutes in Heaven." Rukia stopped to let her words sink in before she continued.

"You guys should know the rules. You spin the bottle and whoever the bottle lands on is stuck with you in a closet for 7 minutes, hence the name. Toushirou, your watch has a timer, right?" Toushirou nodded.

"Good. Uryuu, would you like to begin?"

Uryuu pushed up his glasses. "I'm not playing." To illustrate this fact, Uryuu got up from the circle and leaned on the wall instead.

"Why not?" Rukia raised her eyebrows.

"You guys _are_ aware that there are more boys than girls at this party, right?" More than one person counted the number of boys and girls to see if this was true. It was.

"One of us guys is going to wind up landing in the closet with another guy. It's not going to be me."

"But that's the whole point!" Renji said. "You'll never know who you'll pair up with."

"I'm not playing!"

"Whatever." Renji muttered. "Big baby."

Rukia tapped her foot impatiently. "Uryuu doesn't have to play if he doesn't want to, Renji."

Uryuu smiled triumphantly.

"Hanatarou? Would _you_ like to start?"

"Well...if I must." Hanatarou walked to the center of the room to spin the bottle. Everybody held their breath as the bottle spun faster and then slower, slower still, and then stopped.

It landed on Inoue.

Tatsuki let out a sigh of relief. Hanatarou was a nice guy. He placed fourth on the school exams and he wanted to become a doctor when he grew up. He was probably the only guy in the room that, when stuck in a closet with Inoue, wouldn't try anything.

Hanatarou went over to the coat closet and opened the door. Inoue dutifully followed.

"Orihime-san." Hanatarou said. "After you."

"Why, thank you, Yamada-kun!" Inoue walked into the closet. Hanatarou trailed her and shut the door.

"So..." Isane said. "What're we going to do for 7 minutes?"

Uryuu shrugged. "20 Questions?"

"I'll start." Mizuiro said. "It's a good one. You guys'll never get it."

"Is it an animal?"

"No."

"A plant?"

"No."

"Bacteria?"

"Nope."

They continued to play until Toushirou announced time was up. Rukia went over to let Hanatarou and Inoue out while Mizuiro revealed the answer. (It was a ruby.)

Inoue chose Tatsuki to spin the bottle. Tatsuki spun and it landed on Ikkaku.

"What the hell?" Tatsuki shouted. "I don't even _know_ this guy!"

"As if I want to go in the closet with you!"

"Look at you: you're a bald _fifteen_ year old!"

"_Sixtee_n, actually! Don't _you_ feel stupid!"

"At least I'm not bald!"

Eventually, Tatsuki calmed down and willingly went into the closet. Ikkaku soon followed.

As the door closed, Izuru asked, "So...is it a living thing?" He was directing the question at Isane.

"Hmm...yeah."

When Rukia and Ichigo's turn was up, Ichigo chose Renji to spin the bottle. Renji got up.

Renji spun the bottle.

"It's going to land on a boy," Uryuu said to Ikkaku, who was sitting nearby. "Watch."

If Renji heard, he ignored it and stood and stared at the bottle as it slowed down.

The bottle had nearly come to a complete stop and it looked like Renji would share the closet with Isane. Renji stuck his tongue out at Uryuu.

"See?" Renji said.

"Shut up!" Uryuu said. "It's still moving."

Indeed it was. But it was going at such a slow speed, everyone was certain a snail would go faster. But soon, it stopped pointing at Isane.

"Oh, no..." Renji muttered as Uryuu began to laugh. It was pointing at none other than...

"_Yumichika!_" Renji groaned as the rest of the room burst out in laughter. Except for Yumichika, who didn't find anything funny.

"I'm not going in a closet." Yumichika said, smoothing out the feathers over his eye. "I'll mess up my hair!"

"I'm not going into a closet with a gay guy!" Renji growled.

"So what you're saying is," Ichigo said. "Is that you're perfectly fine with going in a closet with a _straight_ guy?"

"Ichigo, don't twist my words!"

"I'm just sayin'..."

"I'm not gay!"

"Neither am I!" This last exclamation came from Yumichika. He crossed his arm. "And I'd appreciate it if you stop insinuating that I _am_."

"I don't care if you're gay or not!" Rukia said. "Just _go in the closet_!"

"No!" Renji shouted.

"You're not going to go willingly?" Rukia grinned, Cheshire cat style. "Okay then. CHAD!" Rukia snapped her fingers.

Chad walked up behind Renji and crossed his arms like a bouncer. He grabbed the back of Renji's shirt and began walking towards the closet.

"Wait...what! NO! Let me go! You can't make me go in there!" Renji shouted. He flailed his arms wildly and tried to dig into the floor with his feet. This plan failed since he is shorter than Chad and he couldn't reach the floor, so he settled for kicking at Chad's shins.

Everyone seemed to find this very funny.

Chad allowed himself a grin as he walked across the room. He ignored Renji's kicks and screams. He stopped to pick Yumichika up as well.

"Hey! Stop! You're wrinkling my shirt!" Yumichika cried. He tried to pry Chad's hands off with his fingers to no avail.

Kiyone rushed to open the closet door for Chad, since both of his hands were now full.

"Thanks." Chad said as he threw Yumichika and Renji into the closet. As he slammed the door he heard a wail, probably Yumichika.

"My nose!" said a muffled voice from inside the closet. "My beautiful nose!"

Definitely Yumichika.

Rukia sighed. "Who's turn is it for 20 Questions?"

Inoue's hand shot up, "Mine!"

"Alright."

Inoue tapped a finger on her chin, thoughtfully. "Okay...I've got it!"

The students played 20 questions. No... they tried to play, only nobody could hear anything with the excessive yelling coming from the closet.

"Get off my foot!"

"I wouldn't touch your ugly foot if it were the last foot on Earth!"

"That didn't make any sense!"

Everyone huddled around a little closer so they could here each other. They tried their best to ignore Renji and Yumichika.

"Is it a fox?" Rukia asked.

"No!" Isane said before Inoue could answer. "She said a long time ago that it wasn't a mammal!"

"I'm sorry!" Rukia said. "It's kind of hard to hear with that screaming."

As if on cue, the yelling grew louder. On top of that, the closet's occupants began banging on the door.

"Let me out! Let me out _now_!" Said the voices in the closet. "Get me out of here! Get me away from this guy!"

"I've had it!" Tatsuki shouted. "Toushirou, how much time do they have left?"

Toushirou looked at his watch. "About 4 minutes."

"Close enough!" Tatsuki rushed to open the door.

Inside, the two boys were sitting as far apart as they could. Renji looked very pissed off while Yumichika looked utterly disgusted.

"Finally!" Yumichika said as he smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothes. "That was an ugly thing you did, shoving us into the closet like that."

"Yeah, whatever," Tatsuki said gruffly. She didn't like the way Yumichika and Renji ruined their game in such an immature way. "Just go ahead and pick someone."

All during these events, Momo was just a bystander. She watched the outcomes of the spins, but she didn't ever play. She didn't _want_ to play. So you can imagine her suspicions when Yumichika stared at her.

Rukia and Tatsuki and Inoue and Chizuiru were staring at her too. They were whispering and pointing at her and finally, they all nodded and Chizuiru ran to tell something to Yumichika. Yumichika smirked and glanced over at Momo again. She had a sinking feeling in her heart because she could expect what was about to happen.

_Please, don't say my name, Yumichika._ Momo prayed silently. If she were to spin the bottle, there were 18 possible people it could land. Only one of those people did she really want it to land on. Toushirou...

Yumichika nodded at Chizuiru and Chizuiru ran back to her seat next to Inoue.

"Alright, the person I choose is," Yumichika said with a flourish. "Toushirou! C'mon down and spin the bottle!"

""""""

The original pairings for Seven Minutes in Heaven were quite different. They were: IchiRuki, RenTsuki, & UryuuHime. But, if you spin a bottle, it's not going to always land on who you want. So, I changed them to more unusual pairings.

I know there really was no HitsuHina in this chapter. But, this is only Part _One_ of Rukia's party. Part Two is when Toushirou actually spins the bottle. Who will land on, I wonder...?

And, finally, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far, and I encourage them and others to review for this chapter.


	4. The Closet

Okay, this took longer than expected to upload. Sorry. Um...is writer's block a good enough excuse. Yeah, I thought not...

**Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

k i n d h a l o  
Sapphire of Autumn  
Summerbeauty  
tsuki the moon  
kawaii chibi sasuke luver **(Thank you x2)**  
Tsukia-chan x3  
Crain  
Hitoare **(Thank you x 3)**  
Chika-Rin  
Armageddon Angel  
TsUnAmIrageFiRe  
Cryptic Innocence  
shutalud

_So, with no further delay,_

**Chapter Four**  
Rukia shot a look at Soifon and Chizuru, who were laughing at some joke Soifon had just told Chizuru. They were not laughing that loudly, but still. Nearby people could hear them. People performing operations in secret should not be overheard.

"Quiet! C'mon I need you're help on this. Be serious."

"Serious!" Chizuru leaned back on her hands. "What we're doing is a prank. Nothing more. It's not serious. It's far from it."

Rukia grinned. _Touché. _"Just keep it down, okay?"

The prank was a simple one. All they were going to do was get Momo in the closet with Toushirou. Then, they were going to lock them in and keep them there for an hour or so. And how they were going to get them in there...

Okay—they didn't exactly get that far.

That was the part they were stuck on. But they couldn't be stuck for long because Renji and Yumichika were getting out of the closet.

"Look, all we have to do is get Yumichika to call on Momo." Tatsuki said

"Yeah. And out of nineteen people it just so happens to land on Toushirou." Rukia said.

"Why Toushirou? Any other person would be just as funny." Isane asked.

"Because." Rukia said simply. As if that answered the question.

"It seems like an awful lot of work to do."

"Sabotage the bottle." Tatsuki said suddenly. Everyone ('everyone' meaning Chizuru, Soifon Rukia) turned to look at her.

"In order for it to land on Toushirou, we have to _make_ it land on Toushirou." Tatsuki shrugged. "Simple as that."

"What do you mean by sabotage the bottle?" Rukia asked.

"Make it land on Toushirou." Tatsuki repeated.

"We know that. We meant _how_?" Chizuru laughed. Ichigo and Izuru, who were sitting closest to the plotting girls, looked at them suspiciously. "Use our magic powers?"

"No! We could tie a string to the bottle. Then, when Momo spins the bottle, we'll just manipulate it so that it stops on Toushirou."

"That's stupid." Soifon said. "If we tied the string to the bottle, Momo will notice the tug of the string when she tries to spin it."

"Well, I'm the only one making ideas here. So _sorry_."

"It's alright." Rukia said quickly. She noticed that Tatsuki had clenched her hand into a fist. When Tatsuki was angry, she had a habit of punching whoever had made her mad. These people were sometimes knocked out cold. With Inoue playing 20 Questions with the rest of the teens, it was Rukia's job to act as Peacemaker and calm Tatsuki down. "You're idea was really good! We tweak them a bit. We do need to sabotage the bottle..."

"Yeah. But instead, why don't we accidentally-on-purpose bump into the bottle?"

"No," Tatsuki said. "How about me, Chizuru, and Soifon distract everyone while you sneak and turn the bottle so it points to Toushirou?"

"Why me?"

"Because you're shortest. Short people are less likely to be noticed than tall people." Tatsuki smiled. Actually, Soifon, Tatsuki, and Rukia were relatively the same height. Rukia was only shorter than Soifon by 5 centimeters.

"Thanks, Tatsuki, for bringing up the obvious!" Rukia said sarcastically.

"Anytime, _chibi-san_." Tatsuki winked.

Rukia grinned wryly. "But what are you guys going to do to distract them, huh? Everyone has to be watching you guys, or I'll be caught."

"That," Soifon said. "We don't know. But it's not your problem. Why don't you go play 20 questions? We'll figure it out."

Rukia shrugged and moved towards Inoue.

Tatsuki, Soifon, and Chizuru listened as Rukia gave Inoue her guess, which turned out to be wrong. (Isane made sure Rukia knew that.)

"So guys," Tatsuki said. "What're we going to do?"

"I have no idea," Chizuru said.

""""""

Two minutes later, Tatsuki and the others had come up with a plan. It wasn't foolproof, but it made sense.

Tatsuki went to open the door for Renji and Yumichika. She had lost her train of thought several times while concocting a plan because of these two; others were also beginning to get annoyed.

"Finally! That was an ugly thing you did, shoving us into the closet like that."

Tastuki pretty much ignored Yumichika. She was too busy thinking about the plan, a plan she had nothing to do with creating. She shrugged him off and went to sit next to Soifon and Chizuru. Rukia joined her.

Soifon began to tell Rukia their plan. "Then Tatsuki is going to scream to get everyone's attention. I'm going to drag Momo away, because she'd be the closest to the bottle and the most likely to see you. Then Momo's gonna —" Soifon stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. Momo had caught her eye, a frown etched in her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed in suspicion.

Tatsuki looked around to find out why Soifon had stopped. "Oh no..." Tatsuki moaned. "I think she's on to us."

"Well if _somebody _hadn't said her name so many times, she wouldn't have bothered looking over here." Chizuru looked pointedly at Soifon. Soifon seemed to shrink as she pulled her knees to her head.

"If I know Momo," Rukia said. "And I'm pretty sure I do, if she expects something she'll do her best to make sure that are plan won't work. If Yumichika called her, she'd refuse."

"Then Yumichika won't call on her." Tastuki said slowly. "Yumichika will call on Toushirou. It's the same outcome, right? They get stuck in the closet together. Chizuru, go tell Yumichika to call on Toushirou. There's been a change in plans."

""""""

Tatsuki looked nervously at the group.

Any second now, Yumichika was going to tell Toushirou to spin the bottle.

Chizuru ran back to Soifon and Tatsuki.

"Are you guys ready?"

"Alright, the person I choose is…Toushirou! C'mon down and spin the bottle!"

Toushirou shrugged and walked towards the bottle. Tatsuki clenched her teeth. _This has to be the stupidest plan. Ever._

The bottle began to spin rapidly. Tatsuki groaned.

"Are you guys ready?" Chizuru chirped.

"No." Soifon automatically said. Tatsuki just groaned again.

"Great!"

Tatsuki sighed. "You know what?" Tatsuki said to the entire room. "This game is getting boring!"

"You are right, Tatsuki." Soifon said robotically. "Maybe we should do something else."

"I know! We should do karaoke!" Chizuru said happily.

"Yeah." Tatsuki and Soifon said unenthusiastically.

_**Soifon and Tatsuki would like to remind you that this was all Chizuru's idea! Tatsuki would have rather tied string to the bottle!**_

"Let me start!" Tatsuki found it amazing how much Chizuru was enjoying this. "_I look up at the blurry sky…"_

_"So that my tears don't overflow  
Why can't people live  
As they want to?  
A weak heart that's unable to cry  
Doesn't need the strength to keep from crying  
I look for a shooting star  
To place my wish on…"_

Chizuru paused. Everyone wasn't singing like she expected them to. They were just staring at her with their mouths open. _Don't they know the words?_

Nope. She was just a really, really bad singer. Her voice always seemed too sharp or flat and it sounded scratchy on the high notes.

Oblivious to this bit of information, Chizuru pinched Tatsuki on the arm. "Come on, Tatsuki! Join in!"

Any respect Tatsuki had for Chizuru was obliterated right then.

"I don't know the words." Tastuki snuck a look at Rukia. Rukia's maroon shirt was perfect camouflage on the den's carpet. She edged closer to the bottle, trying her hardest not to look suspicious. She turned to face Tatsuki with a big smile on her face.

_Go on. Sing. _Rukia mouthed, mocking Tatsuki. Tatsuki glowered. She hated the satisfaction Rukia was getting seeing her up here. She was doing Rukia a favor. For some unknown reason, Rukia wanted Momo and Toushirou in the closet together. And Tatsuki had obliged. Tatsuki didn't have to take this.

"Soifon?"

"I…well…" Soifon couldn't think of a good excuse. She bowed her head and began singing along with Chizuru. "_But the dawn comes too soon/And I'm unable to find one…"_

Rukia laughed silently before stopping the bottle from spinning and aiming the mouth at Momo. She got up.

"That's enough of that." Rukia said. Everyone's eyes were glazed over. They seemed to have been mesmerized by Tatsuki, Soifon, and Chizuru's extremely horrible performance.

Tatsuki rushed to sit down; she could feel her face burning. Whatever reason Rukia had for getting those two in the closet together, she sure as hell hoped it was worth it.

Getting the two into the closet proved to be a lot simpler than getting the bottle to land on Momo.

Momo was a bit frozen from shock so Tatsuki (gladly) helped her move.

Toushirou went over to the closet without a problem. What's the big deal? They were just going in for seven minutes, _ne_?

_Wrong._

"Hope you're not claustrophobic, Momo," Tastuki said.

"Yep. Seven minutes in a long time." Soifon added.

"Give him a kiss for me," Chizuru chirped. Momo reddened.

Toushirou went into the closet. He put his knees to his chest so that Momo would have enough room.

Rukia gave Momo. Momo stumbled into the closet. She was just short of landing right on top of Toushirou.

Rukia closed the door. She leaned against it and gave a sigh.

"That was easy."

"Maybe for you," Tatsuki grunted. "But for me, it was a terribly embarrassing experience. So tell me, why did you want those two in the closet together? Your answer better be good, or I just might have to kick your ass."

""""""

Momo winced as the door slammed shut. She was locked in the closet with Toushirou.

_Just in case… _Momo pinched herself on the arm. _Ouch. Okay… Real pain…_

As Momo rubbed her now sore arm, Toushirou fingered his watch trying to find the right button for the light.

"I think I just pressed the 'timer' button by mistake," Toushirou said. "But if that was the timer, then this is the 'mode' button, and this—" the room was suddenly filled with a pale blue light "—is the 'light' button."

Momo looked around the newly lit closet. "Jeez! This place is so _cramped_."

"And stuffy too." Toushirou tried to stretch his legs to no avail. The closet was only about a meter long and he couldn't even stretch them_ that_ far with Momo in the way.

"You're telling me," Momo groaned. "I'm probably bright red right now."

"What's that gotta do with anything?"

"My skin can tell the temperature. My skin is pale when it's cold and red when it's hot."

"Really? That's actually kinda cool." Toushirou said. "My skin is always pale. Even when I'm angry or embarrassed. My mom used to say that God made me that way so that my skin would never clash with my hair."

"Cool? You think becoming red as a tomato is cool?"

"Heh..." Toushirou smiled, if it could be called that. It was a ghost of a smile. A smirk maybe.

"What's funny?"

"Calm down," Toushirou said. "You get red when you're angry." Toushirou moved his glowing watch closer to her face. "Look: you're already turning maroon."

Momo swatted his hand away. "As if you could tell with that crappy light!"

"This watch has just enough light so that I can tell the time. It is not meant to light up a closet, even one as small as this."

"Whatever!" Though Toushirou couldn't see it, Momo had crossed her arms. "Anyway, you've yet to answer my question! What's so funny?"

Toushirou laughed out loud. "You! You're getting angry for absolutely no reason. No important one, anyway." Toushirou laughed sobered suddenly. He clapped his hand over his mouth. "...I haven't laughed that hard in…eight years!" Momo could hear Toushirou head thump against the wall. He sounded disappointed that he had just broken his record for "Longest Time without Laughing. "The heat must be affecting me. You're not _that_ funny."

"I'm not funny at all." Momo's tone had softened. She realized how stupid it was to yell. Though she hated her skin complexion at times, it wasn't worth getting mad over.

"Mmm-hmm…"

"Wait—Toushirou…weren't you the one who times how long the people stay in the closet?"

"Yeah…so?"

"Well…how will they know when the 7 minutes are up with their timer in here?"

"That's right!" Toushirou said. "Lessee…according to this…we've been here…11 minutes?!?" He began banging on the door shouting, "Hey! Open up! Time's up!"

Toushirou kept banging on the door for 30 more seconds until Momo tapped him on the shoulder.

"Umm…Toushirou?" Momo said calmly. "Is it just me or did they just turn the music up _louder_?"

Toushirou stopped to listen. "I don't believe it…Are they ignoring us?" Toushirou banged on the door a couple more times.

"Yeah, they are."

"What are they going to do, leave us here?"

Something in Momo's mind clicked. The things Rukia said as Momo was heading into the closet…they were starting take on a lot more meaning.

"Yes," Momo said quietly. "I think they will."

_**9:00 PM, Rukia's closet**_

Momo squirmed uncomfortably in the stuffy closet. She poked Toushirou. "Could you move a bit?"

"I can't…unless you want my face pressed to the wall."

"Ugh…this isn't working."

"You're right. It isn't" Toushirou looked around the closet. "Y'know…if we just move some of the coats out of the way, we might have more room." Toushirou jerked on the tail of one coat. The hanger broke from the pressure and the coat fell—right on Momo's head.

"Hey!"

"Sorry."

"It's alright." Momo stood up. "But maybe you should try it this way." Momo unbuttoned a coat before pulling it off the hanger and plopping it down on the ground. She smiled proudly at Toushirou.

Toushirou turned away with his arms crossed and his face drawn into a deep scowl.

"My way's faster."

_**9:15 PM, Rukia's closet**_

Momo idly drummed her fingers against the wall. She was bored, and somewhat tired. The heat wasn't helping much.

Momo's eyelids were getting heavy, and just as she thought they were going to close for good, a bright light illuminated from the other side of the closet. Techno-esque music played softly. Momo raised her head with the eagerness of a lazy dog. She sat up with all her weight on one hand as the other hand rubbed her eyes.

"What're you doing?" Momo's speech was a bit slurred, though she was fully awake. "What's that?"

"I'm playing a game on my cell phone."

"Really?" Momo crawled over to sit next to Toushirou and look over his shoulder. "Whatcha playing?" The intro music had finished and Toushirou scrolled down and clicked 'play'.

"Snake."

"Can I play?"

"What? No! Weren't you just sleeping?"

"No, I was drifting off to sleep when your cell phone caught my attention. Now I want to play. Can I? Please?" She said the "please" as if it had a million syllables.

"Where's _your_ cell phone?"

"I don't have one."

"Why?"

Momo shrugged. "My mom is an environmentalist. She thinks that a cell phone would give me cancer. Or that I'll become radioactive like Spiderman."

"Oh."

"So can I play?"

"I'm playing right—" Toushirou stopped suddenly. With one last feeble _beep!_, the cell phone went dark and the closet was plunged into darkness.

"What happened?" Momo wondered aloud as Toushirou chucked the phone towards the other side of the closet. Luckily, it didn't have far to go so it didn't break.

"The battery's dead."

_**10:00 PM, Rukia's Closet (still)**_

The party seemed to be raging outside. They had stopped playing 7 Minutes in Heaven (of course, since the closet was already occupied.)

"Go, Kiyone! Go, Kiyone! It's your birthday!" came the shouts from outside. Momo guessed they were having a dance contest. And Kiyone was winning.

"Renji, go up there!" came the unmistakable cheery voice of Orihime. "Rukia says you can dance really well!"

"Yes, he does," Rukia said. At least, Momo thought it was Rukia. "He just doesn't want to admit it. But just this once, please, Renji? It's a party!"

The conversation was replaced with oohs and ahs as Renji replaced Kiyone in the spotlight.

"The party sounds like it's getting fun."

"Meh," Toushirou said with an air of I've-seen-better.

"You don't like dancing?"

"Nope. You?"

"I don't like to dance _personally_, but I like watching _other_ people dance. How about games? Do you like games?"

"Computer games. I don't games where you have to play with other people."

"You mean you don't like card games? I _love_ card games. My favorite game is Dai Hin Min. I always end up being the _daihugo_, the very rich man. Rukia is always the _daihinmin_, the very poor man. That's kind of ironic, since she's like the richest girl in school— "

"Momo?"

"Yes?"

"You talk too much."

The closet was quiet as Momo twiddled her thumbs and Toushirou tapped his fingers on the wall next to him. Out of nowhere, Toushirou's stomach growled.

"Are you hungry?"

"What was your first clue?"

"I'm hungry too. I didn't eat dinner or anything., so the last time I ate was at noon."

"I didn't eat dinner either."

"If you could have anything to eat right now, what would it be?"

"Watermelon," Toushirou said without thinking.

"Really?" Momo wrinkled her nose disgustedly. "Why?"

"You don't like watermelon?'"

"It's too seedy and it's not sweet."

"It _is_ sweet. Very sweet."

"Well, it tastes strange. Like if you pour some sugar into a gallon of water. Sure, it's sweet, but would you like to drink it?"

"Then, what's _your_ favorite food? And please don't tell me it's peaches."

"My favorite food isn't peaches."

"Good."

"But my favorite _fruit_ is."

"Ew," Toushirou groaned. "I hate peaches."

"What's wrong with peaches?"

"They're _hairy_."

"First of all, the peach fuzz is _edible_. Second of all, you don't have to eat the fuzz if you don't want to."

"So?"

Momo sighed "Never mind."

Toushirou's stomach growled again. Momo rummaged around in one of the coats and pulled out some wrapped candy.

"Here," Momo said as she placed the candy in his hand. "Eat this. Pretend it's a watermelon."

"That won't be too hard," Toushirou said after popping the candy in his mouth. "This taffy's watermelon-flavored."

"Mmm…" Momo murmured. The party was winding down outside. Sooner or later, Rukia or somebody was going to let them out. But until then, Momo wanted to catch a few winks.

Toushirou had the same idea. He shifted downward so that his head was on the floor and his feet were propped on the wall **(1)**. Momo assumed the fetal position, with her back against the door.

"Toushirou?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you said you hated peaches," Momo muttered sleepily. "Does that mean you hate me?" She didn't why she asked that. It was stupid and it made no sense. She did some stupid things when she was half asleep. Once, when she fell asleep in class, her teacher tried to wake her up. Upon waking up, Momo punched her teacher in the gut, thinking that she was still dreaming and that her teacher was a zombie ninja.

Toushirou was quiet for awhile. "No…of course not. I'm far from hating you. Very far from it."

**_7:45 AM, They're still in the closet! WTF!_**

Momo yawned and opened her eyes.

_What time is it? It's still dark out._ Momo thought. _I don't usually wake up so early._

In order for Momo to see, she'd have to turn on her lamp, which was on the right side of her bed. She untangled herself from her sheets. She crawled slowly in the dark, until one hand came into contact with something warm. Momo traced her fingers over the object's surface, trying to figure out exactly what it was. A nose…a mouth…a face…

_Toushirou's face!_

Momo clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. This wasn't her room, it was the closet. And these weren't her sheets, which would explain why they were so scratchy (who wears tweed, anyway?).

Momo knocked on the door loudly. This joke had gone on too long. She demanded that they let her out.

But there was no answer.

Momo pressed her ear to the door. The den was quiet. There was no sign of music, there was no laughter or a murmur of talking.

The den was empty.

Momo's eyes widened as she grabbed Toushirou's arm. She fumbled for the watch and turned the light on.

_7:45 AM._

Momo stared and continued staring when the time changed to 7:46.

_They forgot about us. They forgot about me!_ Momo moaned in despair. _My parents are going to kill me._

"Toushirou! Toushirou, wake up!" Momo shook Toushirou violently. "Wake up!"

"I'm up." Toushirou's answer was monotonous and tired-sounding.

"It's morning! We missed the entire party!" Momo wailed.

That got Toushirou's attention. He shot up straight with his eyes wide. But Momo was kneeling over him so their heads met and a painful-sounding crack filled the air. Toushirou fell back from the impact and lay down on the floor moaning. Momo's nails dug into the carpet and tears came to her eyes.

"Did they really leave us?" Toushirou said after awhile.

"Mm-hmm." Momo nodded.

"Are you crying?"

"No." Momo said, though it was a lie. She was getting a major headache.

"Hanatarou should be up by now." Momo said.

"Who's that?"

"He went into the closet with Orihime."

"Who?"

"The girl with orange hair."

"Oh. What's _he_ doing here?"

"He lives here. His mom works as the Kuchiki-household maid and they live on location."

"Oh."

"Someone's coming down the stairs!" Momo began banging on the door. A scream came from the stairwell. Five seconds later, Momo and Toushirou could hear a key jingling in a door. The door opened with a creak and Toushirou winced in the sudden light.

"Momo!" Hanatarou exclaimed. He was dressed in navy blue pajamas that were a bit too big for him. They used to belong to Byakuya. "What are you doing here?"

Momo didn't bother to answer. She scrambled out of the closet and Toushirou followed suit.

"Let me get it," Hanatarou said. "RUKIA!"

There was a thump and somewhere a door opened. Rukia came trudging down the stairs in her Chappy Bunny pajamas. She didn't look tired but she looked miffed.

"What is it, Hanatarou?" Rukia asked. Then she noticed the other two. "Oh, my God! Momo!"

"Am I invisible to you guys or something?" Toushirou asked.

"Oh. Hi, Toushirou." Rukia said casually.

"We've got get you guys home," Hanatarou said worriedly.

"Sugoi! Great!" Momo said. "But could I freshen up first?"

"Oh, yes, please." Rukia said rudely. "Because right now you look like crap."

""""""

"Todaima **(2)**, I'm home. Momo said as she trudged up the stairs. As she expected, her parents were still asleep. She walked into her room and climbed into her bed.

As soon as she closed her eyes, the phone rang. Her eyes shot back open as she reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Rangiku."

"Who?" Momo looked at the clock. Who called people at 9 in the morning.

"Matsumoto Rangiku. Your new boss."

Momo brightened. "I got the job? Really?"

"Yep. It was real easy decision to make. Only two people applied for the job: you and this other boy who had trouble finding my eyes. That's exactly why I don't like working with boys: all they care about are boobs."

Momo smiled despite the fact that she was pissed at the basis of Matsumoto-gaka's decision.

"Oh. And another thing." Matsumoto-gaka said in remembrance. "You forgot to show me your portfolio."

"My portfolio? Hold on one second, please," she put the phone on the bed. She began to look through her drawers. How could she have forgotten. Her portfolio, which contained all the pictures she ever drew, was the most important part of the interview. When she didn't find it in her room, she went across the hall to check her sister's room.

Her sister, Ringo, was currently living at Aoyama Gakuin University and Momo used her room for storage. But she didn't find it there either.

She went back to her room. She picked up the phone.

"_Etou_…I can't find my portfolio anywhere," Momo said when she got back on the phone.

"Don't worry! You left it here!"

Momo's jaw clenched. "I just spent ten minutes searching for that thing! You could've told me earlier!"

"I know!" Matsumoto-gaka chirped before hanging up the phone.

"""""" 

(1) I'm not good at describing this, so Hitsugaya's sitting like Inoue was sitting on the cover of volume 3.  
(2)You're supposed to say _Todaima!_ even if someone isn't home.

**A/N:** _This chapter literally took me all day to write. I ate all my meals at the computer, didn't do my homework, and never went to the bathroom today because I was determined to write this chapter today and not put it off any longer. I'm a terrible procrastinator, so as a sorry, I made this chapter extra long. It's almost as long as all three of the previous chapters combined!_

_The song Chizuru was singing is called Hanabi, by Ayumi Hamasaki, the empress of j-pop (yes, yes, I'm a fan). The song rhymes in Japanese, I swear._

_Momo's sister's name is Ringo, which means "apple". I couldn't resist putting her in the story. _

_Oh,_ _and I'm calling Matsumoto "Mastumoto-gaka" because she's an artist._

_And for those who want to know how to play Dai Hin Min, go to my profile and click my homepage, which is a link to Wikipedia._

_**To kawaii chibi sasuke luver:** I did read what you said and I seriously thought of_ _who Hitsugaya was going to wind up with. But I have no imagination. Gomen nesai!_

_**To Armageddon Angel:** Thank you for your advice. I did try to make Hitsugaya talk a lot more in this chapter, but I didn't make him talk too much 'cuz I didn't want any useless conversations._

_**R-E-V-I-E-W!  
That's how we spell it,  
Here's how we yell it:  
Review! Review! C'mon guys, review!**_


	5. Dolphin Phone

_**Yup! It's me posting a short little chapter. I was really speed typing trying to finish this.**_

_**WOW! Look! Reviews!  
Sireylithy  
Armageddon Angel  
k i n d h a l o  
Sapphire of Autumn  
hitsugayalover  
Tsukichiki**_

"Momo?" Momo's mother appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Where were you? You didn't come home last night."

"I was at Rukia's. She had a party, remember?"

"I remember, but do parties usually last until nine in the morning?"

Some parties do. Frat parties, for example. The parties Ringo goes to. But not the one _Momo_ went to.

"It was a sleepover." That wasn't _really_ a lie. Momo did _sleep over_.

"Then, why are you home so early?"

"Because I was expecting a call." _This_ was a downright lie.

"From who?"

"My boss. Business stuff, you know." Momo's mother nodded as if she really _did_ know, though Momo knew she didn't. This was to her advantage.

"Alright, dear. Are you hungry?"

Momo shook her head vigorously. She was extremely hungry, but she didn't want her mother to know that. Her mom might be inclined to cook her something. And then Momo would be expected to eat it.

Momo wasn't that stupid.

Hinamori Puramu was a very bad cook, worse than Orihime. Being the environmentalist that she was, most of her food wasn't anything Momo's friends would be eating. Momo wasn't even sure if any of it was edible. Puramu mixed all her weird ingredients in even weirder ways. And, when all the torture was done, she burnt the "food" to a crisp.

"No, thank you, mom."

"Okay. I'm going back to bed."

"Alright."

Puramu shuffled out of the room in her fluffy, pink bunny slippers. _No…_ Momo squinted at the shoes. They _weren't_ Puramu's slippers. _Those are mine!_

_Ugh…_ Momo collapsed on her bed and rolled her eyes. Right now, she was too tired to care.

Momo continued walking, though she heard Rukia call her name.

"Momo. Hey, Momo!" Rukia ran up next to Momo. Momo continued looking forward.

"Momo, are you still mad at me? I'm really sorry about leaving you in the closet!"

Momo ignored her.

"Oh. The silent treatment. I get it." Rukia's shoulders slumped. "If it helps, Tatsuki's mad at me too."

"It helps. What'd you do to _her_?"

"Nothing." Rukia said quickly. Tatsuki was mad because, as far as she was concerned, Rukia's reason for getting Momo and Toushirou together in the closet was complete and utter crap. She had gone in front of all those people and embarrassed herself for _nothing_. But Rukia couldn't tell Momo that. Because then she'd know they sabotaged the bottle, and then she'd be _angrier_. "It was just something that happened at the party!"

"And I wouldn't know anything about that!" Momo said dryly. "Being stuck in a closet and all."

"I'm sorry! If you guys had made more noise, _maybe_ we wouldn't have forgotten about you!"

"If you had given only seven minutes like a normal person—"

"As if you minded!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tell me that you really were mad that you got trapped in the closet with Toushirou!"

"I wasn't! I don't like closed spaces. I don't like the dark. And I don't like Toushirou—at least not in the way you mean." Momo prided herself on being a great liar. She was a creative person who could make up stories right of the bat. When she lied, she never said "um" or "uh".

The warning bell rang. Most of the students were already in class.

"Excuse me," Momo finally said, after surviving a long hard look from Rukia. "We'll be late."

For the first time in her life, Momo was glad that she wasn't in the same class as Rukia.

Momo rushed into the classroom and gladly took her seat. Her lab partner was Isane. Isane was a really quiet girl who stuttered when she was nervous. She stuttered a lot.

"Hi, Momo!" Isane moved her knapsack so that Momo could sit on the stool next to her. She didn't usually stuttered around Momo. People always said that they felt very relaxed around her. They said that it had something to do with her uppity personality. Not to be confused with _Orihime's_ uppity personality, which would not relax you, but instead make you jumpy and bubbly.

"Hey."

"You should've been at Rukia's party. It was really fun and—"

"I _was_ at Rukia's party!"

_Zing!_

"Oh! Well I didn't see you! Where were you hiding?" Isane laughed nervously.

"The closet," Momo said bluntly.

"What do you—" Isane stopped, suddenly remembering. "Th-the closet! I f-forgot!"

"So did Rukia. I was there all night," Momo was making Isane nervous, she could tell. Momo didn't really mean to be so mean to Isane. Some of her anger was still left over from the hallway.

"I-I'm r-r-really sorry about the-that! W-well, do you want t-to hear about it?"

"Why not? I won't know otherwise."

"G-g-great! I m-mean, not great th-that you have t-to hear about it t-to know what went on! Great that y-you'll let m-me—"

"I got it. It's cool," Momo opened her bag and pulled out her biology book. She stood up and motioned for Isane to do the same because their teacher had arrived. The entire class began to stand up as well.

"Good morning, Ukitake-sensei! How are you today?" the entire class chorused in unison.

"Ohayo!" Ukitake-sensei said back. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

Ukitake-sensei used to be a Physics teacher at Waseda University. Aramaki-omo, their principal had renovated this room so it could easily be used as a science lab. They installed double desks that had an emergency eyewash, a sink, and a Bunsen burner already put in.

"To have Ukitake want to teach at our school is a truly great honor. I believe that our sophomores are really proud to have him as a teacher," Aramaki-omo had said the day Ukitake-sensei arrived and Washio-sensei was kicked to the curb.

Nobody knew why the greatly honored scholar wanted to teach at lowly Karakura High anyway. The school didn't _suck_, but it wasn't exactly prestigious. Uryuu Ishida, the school's top ranking student, once was in the Top Fifty on the list of students' scores nationwide. But that's about it.

Ukitake-sensei dumped his briefcase on his desk. He unbuttoned his blazer and draped it over the chair.

"I apologize for being late. I was stuck in traffic," Ukitake smiled. His extremely long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Anyway, I was planning for us to go outside today and study different types of trees. But, there was a sudden change in the weather, and I think it's too cold out there." Ukitake-sensei paused to cough into his handkerchief. He had tuberculosis, and it had turned his hair white. He took a sip from his water bottle to clear his throat.

"Therefore, I have changed my entire lesson plan. We will learn about biomes and ecology next semester. This semester, we'll work on the human body, starting with the brain. Please turn to page 276 in your textbook. Can someone please pass out these worksheets?" Ukitake-sensei raised a stack of papers.

"Me!" Soifon practically jumped off her stool and almost tripped over her bag.

"Great," Ukitake-sensei said and dropped the papers in her hand. He coughed into his hand and took another sip of water.

Momo looked down at the sheet she was just handed. The title said _Getting to Know Your Body: the Nervous System_. On it was a large picture of the human nervous system. There were lines drawn near certain areas. Near the top of the page, there was a list of different types of nerves. Momo scanned the page instructions.

"_Label the following diagram with terms from the word bank." Simple enough._ Momo chewed on her pen top.

_Well, that's the brain,_ Momo could tell without looking in the book. She wrote _brain_ on the line on the top of the head and crossed it out on the word bank. Momo thumbed her book until it got to 276. She searched the entire page. She found some useful information, and was able to cross out _cerebellum_, _spinal cord_, _intercostal nerve_, _femoral nerve_, and _tibial nerve_. She didn't find any clues as to the whereabouts of the other nerves, however. She flipped the page.

"Psst, Momo. The ulnar nerve is on the wrist," Isane whispered.

"Thanks," Momo whispered back. "The tibial nerve is on the knee."

"No. The common peroneal nerve is on the knee."

Momo squinted at her paper. She was sure she was right, but she had no reason not to believe Isane was right either.

"There are two nerves on the knee. We're both right." Isane nodded and began scribbling wildly.

"Oh! I found one. The brachial prechus is on the shoulder."

With the two working together, they were able to finish a full 15 minutes before everyone else. Usually, the procedure was that when you finished your work, you would read ahead and take notes or do your homework. But, Momo wanted to hear exactly what happened at the party, something Momo missed but _definitely_ shouldn't have.

_**Are you sure you wanna know?** _Isane scribbled onto a sheet of notebook paper. They weren't supposed to be talking

_Tell me._

_**Alright. So right when you got in the closet, Tatsuki said something about kicking Rukia's ass.**_

_What?_

_**Yeah, I didn't get it either. Rukia went over to her and said something, and that made Tatsuki mad.**_

_Rukia told me that Tatsuki was still mad at her._

_**I'd believe it. Anyway, Chizuru said to continue playing karaoke. She was about to open her mouth, but 69 went behind her and put his hand on her mouth.**_

_Who's 69?_

_**Shuuhei. People started calling him that because last week he tattooed "69" on his cheek.**_

_Did he?_ _When did that happen?_

_**I don't know, sometime before the party. His mom's really pissed with him. As I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted—**_

_Sorry._

_**STOP SNATCHNG THE PEN!!!** _Next to her latest entry, Isane drew an angry face.

_You suck at drawing._

_**Do you want me to tell you or not? God. Anyway, 69 put his hand over Chizuru's mouth because NOBODY wanted her to start singing. Don't tell her I said this, but she CANNOT SING and I don't think she knows it.**_

_You're secret's safe with me._

_**Good. After that, everybody just started talking amongst themselves.**_

_And they forgot about me._

_**Yep. I'm really sorry.**_

_It's alright. Really._

_**You don't sound sure…Whatever. Then Yumichika started a dance contest. He went first.**_

_Did he do ballet? LOL._

_**Not funny. And no, he was actually really good at the tango.**_

_Doesn't it take two to tango?_

_**Yeah…um…I danced with him**._

_Ha ha! Made you blush!_

_**Toushirou is cute, don't ya think?**_

_What!_

_**Ha ha! Made you blush!**_

_Alright, I got you, you got me. What happened after that?_

_**Kira-kun started dancing.**_

_Kira-kun? How many times has he told you to call him Izuru?_

**Too many, obviously. Fine, IZURU started dancing. Only it wasn't dancing. It was stepping. **

_Stepping? He's finally showing us what he learns after school._

_**He was really good! There was this thing that he did on the chair…so cool.**_

_And then what happened?_

_**I'd tell you if you stopped taking the pen. 69 joined in. They started doing some sort call-and-response. Kira-kun**_

Izuru.

_**Izuru would do something and then 69 would repeat it. After they finished, Izuru took 69 out to the side and asked if he might want to join the step team. Then KIYONE started dancing!**_

Your SISTER!

_**Yep! And she was good. She's so energetic and her dancing was very bubbly. Everyone loved her. They were shouting "Go Kiyone!" I personally didn't know she could dance so well.**_

_And then Renji started dancing? _

_**Right. He stood on his head and did flips all** **over the place. **__**What do you call that?** _

_Break dancing? _

_**Yep.**_

_Then what? _

_**Kiyone fainted.**_

_What! _

_**Overexertion. 69 and Ichigo carried her home for me. The party was pretty much over by then. So, that's pretty much it.**_

_Wow. That was…interesting._

_**Do you think Ichigo and 69 are related?**_

_Eh?_

_**Don't you think they look an awful lot alike? I do.**_

_That was really random, Isane._

"Class? Is everyone done?" Ukitake-sensei said. "Good. Let's hurry up and check the answers and move on to geometry."

""""""

After geometry and English, the class took a break for lunch. Isane and Momo waited by the door for Hanatarou and Soifon to catch up.

"Where are we eating guys?" Hanatarou asked. The school had a cafeteria, but it was always crowded with freshmen and seniors. They could always eat in the classroom, but the idea of eating with the fear that a beaker full of some unknown substance didn't appeal much. The best choice was somewhere outside.

"Depends. Where's Rukia sitting?" Momo asked.

"Probably the roof. You know how much she likes high places."

"Then we'll eat by the tree," Momo said simply.

Soifon stopped walking and turned around. "Are you _still_ mad at Rukia?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Why? I wanna eat on the roof today. _Everybody's_ eating there," Hanatarou whined.

"Yeah. The roof takes off some of the wind chill factor. And, Momo, you really need to talk to her," Soifon pleaded.

"Why?"

"Because fights are stupid and you have no point to be in one and Rukia is your friend and the thing in the closet was no big deal because no harm was done. Right?" Isane said it all in one breath.

And this comes from the person who stutters when boys (except, of course, Hanatarou) try to talk to her.

"Right," Momo said reluctantly. She didn't willingly go to the roof, but she allowed herself to be pulled to the ladder.

Hanatarou went first, because everyone else had a skirt on. Soifon climbed up next, though she climbed up backwards to make sure no one was looking. Isane and Momo stood at the bottom, each waiting for the other to go.

"Go."

"No, you go," Momo smiled. "I insist."

Isane shrugged and began the climb. She stopped on the third rung and turned around. "You promise you won't try to run away?"

"I promise."

"Are you crossing your fingers?"

Momo held up her hands. "Nope."

"Pinky swear?"

"Could you please just go?" Momo asked impatiently.

"Fine." Isane began the climb.

When Momo was sure Isane wasn't looking, she turned and walked away slowly. She was a stubborn girl. Rukia was a stubborn girl. Two stubborn girls could not apologize and act civilized. It was unnatural.

Momo felt a tug on her collar. She gasped and turned around.

"You promised."

"I kept the promise. Was I running?"

"Get on the ladder."

"Okay! But please, let go of my collar. I can't breathe."

Isane did so and Momo rubbed her sore neck. She glowered at Isane before climbing up. Isane was right on her tail.

Momo hopped over the guard rail. She checked the contents of her lunch to make sure nothing was ruined. Her boiled egg was a little cracked, but who ate the shell anyway?

The rooftop was crowded with friends of hers. The boys were sitting in one corner of the roof, the girls a few feet away. Shuuhei, Izuru, and Renji balanced precariously on the guard rail, talking amongst themselves.

But Rukia was nowhere to be found. Momo let out a sigh of relief.

Momo sat and nibbled on her _onigiri_. She didn't like sitting with the boys because they never talked. They just sat and concentrated on their food. The girls were worse. They talked, but _way_ too much. They gossiped and talked about Orihime's food choices. Nothing important.

The only people Momo talked to at lunch were Rukia and Tatsuki. But Tatsuki had a Student Disciplinary Committee meeting and Rukia was… Where _was_ Rukia anyway?

So Momo sat and stared at a tree until lunch was over.

""""""

"Hey, Tatsuki!" Shuuhei snickered. "Could ya sing a song for us before you go? Just one?"

"Shut up, sixty-nine! That happened two days ago! Get over it!" Tatsuki gave Shuuhei a punch. As an after thought, she gave Renji one too.

"Please, don't beat up my friends," Ichigo said, coming up behind Tatsuki.

"That's right, Ichigo. They're your friends. Not mine."

"Whatever. Can we hurry up and go?" Ichigo and Tatsuki usually walked home together, since they lived so near each other.

"One second. Hi, Momo!" Tatsuki waved. "I didn't see you today."

"Hey. How was the meeting?"

"Boring. They were talking about changing the punishment for fighting. There was a fight last week between these two seniors. Problem is, one of them was picking on the other."

Momo nodded.

"So the big one's pushing the little one around, right? After awhile the little one starts fighting back. Do you think it's fair that they get the same punishment?"

"Nope."

"That's what the committee thinks too. We'll probably change it so that the one who started the fight gets more days of suspension or something. Unless the principal disagrees with us. But why would he?"

"Tatsuki, come on!" Ichigo grabbed onto Tatsuki shoulder.

"Alright! Can't I talk to my friend? Sheesh!" Tatsuki turned back to Momo. "Bye, Momo!"

"Yeah, _bye_, Momo!" Ichigo pulled Tatsuki by the arm.

"Ow! I was _coming_, Ichigo!"

Momo smiled. Fighting was a hilarious thing. Unless, of course, you're involved.

Speaking of which…

Momo felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned.

"Hi, Momo."

"Oh, hi, Rukia." Momo looked down at her shoes, not wanting to say anything else.

Rukia took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"What? What did you say?" Momo really hadn't heard her. Rukia had said it really quickly, which had made it incomprehensible.

"I said I was sorry."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had no right to lock you in the closet. And I definitely didn't have a right to yell at you this morning. And, because I am seriously sorry, I bought you a gift."

"A gift? I mean…it's not like I've forgiven you yet. I just want to see it."

"Sure. Here," Rukia pulled Momo's gift from behind her back.

_A cellphone._ It was sleek and silver and the size of a ladies' electric razor.

"Oh…my…god! Look at it, Rukia! The buttons and the screen look so high-tech. Like they were crafted by hyper-intelligent dolphins or something!"

"Dolphins?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm not so sure about that, but I know it has a built-in radio. And a flashlight."

"I don't think I should take this."

"It's okay! I just got a new phone. That's my old one." She took out a second phone barely as big as her thumb and snapped it open like a switchblade.

"Call Momo," she said. Three seconds later, Momo's phone began playing "Ai wa Enajii" in FM quality sound, which I guess is what phones do when they're too cool to just, you know, ring.

"Answer your phone."

"Rukia, I'm standing right here!"

"Answer it."

Momo rolled her eyes and pressed the talk button. "Hello?"

"How do you like your new phone?"

"It's alright. More than alright. Fabulous!"

"So, do you forgive me?"

"Well…"

"I'll pay the phone bill."

"Done. Bye, Run-run."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to give a hug to the nicest friend ever."

"I wonder who'd that be," Rukia said, before shutting off her phone.

"You should have a good idea." Momo put her new phone in her pocket. She gave Rukia a humongous bear-hug.

"Are you done?"

"Run-run! That was a very sentimental moment and you wrecked it!"

"Sorry. Can I make it up to you by walking you to your job?"

"How'd you know I got it?"

"I know people."

"Did you just call my mom?"

"Maybe," Rukia said. "Hanatarou, I'm leaving!"

"Right!" In a split second, Hanatarou was by Rukia's side.

"We're dropping Momo off first. Is that okay?"

"More than okay. So let's go!"

The trip to Matsumoto's house was a short one, only seven minutes on foot. When they got there, Rukia stopped at the gate and looked at the house in sudden interest.

"That's where you work?"

"That's where I'm _gonna_ work. I haven't started yet."

Hanatarou and Rukia exchanged knowing glances, an action Momo felt she didn't like very much.

"Well, have fun!" Rukia waved and Momo waved back.

"All call you back on my new dolphin phone."

"I really don't think it was made by dolphins."

"Um…I don't know what you guys are talking about so I'm just going to change the subject. Later, Momo," Hanatarou said with a smile.

"See ya, Hanatarou." Momo waved from the doorstep. She rang the doorbell. She heard footsteps inside. The door opened slowly.

"Momo! Glad you're here!" Matsumoto-gaka said gleefully. "Come inside! It's really cold out there."

""""""

_**WTF is a Run-run?** Run-run is Momo's pet name for Rukia. _

_**To Sireylithy:** Gawd, I'm slow. Why didn't I think of that? But that's some really good advice. I'm going to use it from now on so that it doesn't take me 2 months to finish a chapter. Thanks._

_This chapter is short, and I know it. I just wanted to explain to you what happened at the party. And then I added some other stuff to make it longer._

_I'm going to my grandparents' house for Empreror's Day and Christmas. When I get back, I'd like some reviews.

* * *

_

_Do you see that button? That purple button on the bottom of the screen that says 'GO'? If not, you might need to scroll down a little. See it now? Good. Click it. And review. Now. You don't know what to write? No problem. Here's a sample review, go ahead and copy and paste if you want._

_**I really like your story! Keep writing please!**_

_You can insert as many exclamation marks as you want, as well as a smiley of your choice afterward, such as **:o)**. Now you have no reason not to review._


	6. After School Monday

_Hello! Thanks for reading this far!_

_**Reviewers**  
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**They reviewed, you can too!**_

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Bleach. Surprisingly, I'm okay with that.  
**Something to think about:** After Momo freshened up, Hanatarou and Rukia walked Momo and Toushirou home. They dropped off Momo first, which means Hanatarou and Rukia know where Toushirou lives, while Momo doesn't.  
_

**_

* * *

Outside Fuurin Community Center, 4:23 PM_**  
Toushirou hesitated to open the door. He wanted to stay out in the cold air just a second longer. So, instead, he went back down and sat on the front steps. 

The icy wind was like a fresh cup of mint tea. It cleared his head and helped him relax. Cold air helped him to think. And, man, did he have a lot to think about.

The closet, for one thing. It wasn't even the fact that they held him in the closet in the first place. It was more what went on in the closet that was bothering.

_Three words…three god damned words…_ Toushirou held his head in his hands.

"_Toushirou?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"Well, you said you hated peaches," Momo muttered sleepily. "Does that mean you hate me?" 

What in the world she ask that for?_ Toushirou thought. She looked half-asleep; maybe she didn't know what she was saying. Her eyes were becoming all droopy._

_Toushirou didn't know what to say. It was a childish question. What could he say to that? He tried to analyze the question. Was it a _trick_ question? What if he just said 'maybe'? Would she be mad?_

_All this thinking made Toushirou's head hurt, so Toushirou just decided to screw it and answer the question._

"_No…of course not. I'm far from hating you. Very far from it."_

_Momo smiled and closed her eyes._

_Five minutes went by. Toushirou peered at Momo. She snored softly. Toushirou kneeled over her. She looked so peaceful and innocent. Toushirou grinned and settled down to get to sleep. Momo hadn't moved back to her previous spot, and she and Toushirou lay only inches apart. Toushirou thought nothing of it. He simply turned the opposite way so that he wasn't facing Momo. He pulled one of the coats over him. He closed his eyes and right before he drifted off to sleep, Momo whispered those words that would haunt him for a week._

"_I love you too, Toushirou."_

On the front steps to the Fuurin Community Center, Toushirou tried to find the meaning and the reasoning behind Momo's words, as he had done many times before. _Did it really sound like I meant I loved her? She could have meant it as a joke. Maybe she just wanted to see how I'd react. She could very well have been dreaming. But why was she dreaming about me? Or maybe I was dreaming. But why would I dream that she said… that? Maybe she was dreaming, but not about me._

_Maybe there's another Toushirou._

Toushirou jumped out of his seat. He didn't like that last one at all, but he didn't know why. _Jealousy?_ Toushirou shook his head and went and opened the large glass door and stepped out of the cold.

_Maybe I should stop thinking. Nothing good ever comes out of it.

* * *

**Matsumoto Household, 4:49 PM**  
Momo walked in and immediately apologized. She had forgotten to take off her school blazer outside, which was the polite thing to do. _

"It's alright! Momo, you've got to stop apologizing. You won't get anything done otherwise."

"_Ja ne! _I mean… never mind."

"Good! You're learning! Now, come along!"

Momo followed Matsumoto-gaka through the living room. Two end tables and a lamp (missing the lamp shade) was unpacked in addition to the couch and TV. Matsumoto-gaka had hardly done anything since the last time Momo was here.

They arrived at Matsumoto-gaka's art room. The room's condition had not gotten better; it may have gotten worse. Momo entered with caution, as not to step on anything. Matsumoto-gaka remained standing, so Momo stood too.

"So, what do you want me to do? Draw sketches? Take pictures? Critique your work?"

"What? No. Here," Matsumoto handed Momo a sheet of paper. "This is a list of your chores."

The list was written on the back of a shopping list. The characters were orange. Matsumoto-gaka had written the list in colored pencil. Momo read over the list.

_**MOMO'S TO DO LIST**_

_-organize brushes and charcoal by size  
__-organize paint by color  
__-organize colored pencils, markers, and pastels  
__-sharpen pencils and scissors_

Those first few made sense. She _was_ an artist's assistant. But it was what came _next_ that felt kind of out of place.

_-wash the dishes  
__-dust the house  
__-wash the windows  
__-rake the leaves  
__-take out the trash_

Basically clean the whole house! 

"'Clean the whole house'? Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because it's dirty." Matsumoto-gaka tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "Is that not obvious?"

"Well, that's not what I meant. Why do you want me _personally_ to do it?"

"Same answer."

"Why can't _you _do it?"

"Because if _I_ do it, _you_ would be out of the job. And, plus, I don't feel like it."

"I thought it was going to be different! I thought I was going to be helping you."

"You _are_ helping me. You are doing the stuff I don't want to do but has to be done, so that I can do what I want to do but _also _has to be done."

"But—"

"Look, Momo, this house is a mess and if you're not going to clean it I just might have to fire you. I'd much rather have you here, by the way."

"Why can't you hire a maid?"

"I can't afford it! I just moved house and all I can afford is cheap student labor. Too bad the student in question isn't doing the labor."

Momo sighed. "Alright."

"Great. If you don't mind, could clean this room first?" Matsumoto pointed to three big boxes. "Those boxes are filled with markers, pencils, pastels, and brushes. I need you to separate them and then organize them however I asked you to on the to-do list." She gestured at some plastic shoeboxes that Momo once saw in the handicraft shop. "Put them in these boxes when you're done."

Momo nodded and kneeled on the floor next to the nearest box. "Why do you have so many?"

"It just sort of accumulated over the years. Every year for my birthday, at least one of my friends give me an art set."

"Really? Most of my friends usually give me sketch pads."

"Do they now? My friends stopped doing _that _when I through all of the sketch pads in the trash. Which reminds me, if you find any stubs in those boxes, kindly throw them away, okay?"

"Sure."

"If you need me, I'll be on the couch reading. Or sleeping. Depending on what time it is."

Time went on. Momo had just completed the first box and moved on two the second. Her fingers were turning black, a color she obtained from all the different colors rubbing on her hands.

Matsumoto-gaka yawned and shut her book. She got up from her chair and stretched. She moved from her recliner to a wooden chair, which was closer to Momo. She pulled a sketchpad from the bookshelf.

_Scritch…scratchity-scratch…scri-scritch-scratch…scratch._ Momo turned to see what was making the noise. Matsumoto sat Indian-style on the chair. Her sketchpad was in her lap and she was chewing on a pencil eraser. Her head was tilted to the side as she stared watched Momo. She looked down and took her pencil out of her mouth and began drawing so the scratching continued.

"Um…what're you doing?"

"I'm drawing you."

"_Why?_"

"Because I'm bored. Continue what you're doing."

Momo sighed and turned back to her work.

"Momo, could you stop moving so much?"

"Sorry." Momo tried to sort the boxes by only moving her arms. She made a mental note to apologize to Ringo, Rukia, Ichigo, Isane, and anyone else she snapped at because they were moving to much for her portrait. Staying still for periods of time was _hard_.

Because of her limited movement, Momo couldn't be really all that productive. She was only halfway done with the second box when Matsumoto-gaka said she was finished.

"Let me see, then."  
"Oh, wait, I have to color it," Matsumoto dragged one of the completely filled shoe boxes to her chair.

With her restraints gone, Momo began to fill the shoe boxes quickly. She needed to get home soon, and she didn't want to have to deal with this on Wednesday. The second box was soon empty, and she began on the third one.

"Done!"

"Can I see now?"

"Say please." But Matsumoto-gaka willingly handed over her drawing.

"Why didn't you color in my skin?"

"Your skin is peachy-pinkish-brown. I don't have that color."

"'Peachy-pinkish-brown'? Is that even a _word_?"

"Yes. It's an adjective. Or noun, depending on the sentence. If you said, 'Peachy-pinkish-brown is a color,' it would be a noun, but if you were to say, 'Momo's skin is peachy-pinkish-brown,' it's an adjective."

"Why couldn't you just use tan? That's the color _I_ use on skin."

"Because your skin _isn't_ tan."

Momo blinked.

"Okay," Matsumoto-gaka sighed. "It's obvious you don't understand. Go to the window." Momo did so and Matsumoto-gaka followed her. Matsumoto-gaka pointed at the lawn. It was covered with leaves, seeing as nobody raked it.

"What color are the leaves?"

"Brown?" Momo answered uncertainly.

"Wrong! The _correct_ answer would have been orangish-yellowy-brown. Do you know _why_?"

Momo shook her head. Matsumoto held up her hand. In it, was a brown colored pencil.

"This is brown. Do you agree?"

Momo nodded.

"Hold the pencil up next to the window. Are the leaves the same color as the pencil?"

Again, Momo shook her head.

"Therefore, the leaves are not brown."

"But that's not true. There are many different shades of brown—"

"Exactly! If you use such a vast word, how will I know what you're talking about? Be descriptive. Imaginative. Creative. It's part of being an artist." Matsumoto-gaka looked at her watch. "Alright, child labor laws say I can't have you for more than three hours. You can stay as long as you want, but, just so you know, you're not getting paid for overtime."

"In that case," Momo said. "I'll see you Wednesday."

* * *

**_Fuurin Community Center, 6:54 PM_**  
"You know, Hitsugaya-kun, our lessons would be a lot more productive if you _paid attention_!" 

"What?" Toushirou looked at Takahashi-sempai as if seeing her for the first time.

"What is outside that window that you are so fond of looking at?"

"The sky, the ground, that bug crawling up the window pane. Anything out there is way more interesting than what's happening in here."

"No need for snide remarks. I'm not forcing you to take tutoring."

"Yeah, my mom is." Toushirou made a face. "It's almost seven. Doesn't the center close soon?"

"Yes, it does." Takahashi-sempai sighed. "We can do this later. How about during study hall?"

"Sure. I'll talk to my mom about paying you extra."

"No need! It's okay!"

Toushirou shrugged. "_I_ on the other hand would never give up the chance at free money. Just saying. Bye, sempai."

Toushirou exited the community center and fumbled in his pocket for some gum. His mother had always told him to never chew gum in public. But, then again, he didn't really_ like_ his mother. Why listen to her? Besides, spearmint was his favorite.

_The tutor session today wasn't so bad. True, I didn't _learn_ anything, but does that really matter? _

He didn't have tutor because he needed extra help. He had a tutor because he was smart and, in the words of his mother, he should "nurture his gift". He had a tutor Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Most summers, he went to cram school. He hated it his schedule because it left him really stressed and tired, and he had no time for friends. He was only exempt from tutoring sessions _last_ year because he was a member of the swim team.

But here, he didn't know anybody. He joined the swim team last year after he found it his friends had joins. Who were his friends here? Well, Tatsuki was pretty nice and so was Ichigo. But they just didn't seem like…swim _material_. And he couldn't just _stop_ taking tutoring lessons. If he did, his mother would cut him off from her finances and leave him to fend for himself.

Seriously. She _told_ him so.

His mother had never in one for ideas. One of the stupidest, and most life-ruining, was getting a therapist. She thought that Toushirou had a lot of anger after his dad died and that they should settle it all in therapy. The therapist had told her that he should move to live with someone so he could understand that he is strong enough to live on his own, and without his father. The worse part is she _believed_ him. She sent Toushirou to Karakurachou, a place in Southern Tokyo he had never _heard_ of. One of his mother's not-so-close friends came with him.

Stupid Idea #3: He had never _met_ the woman before moving in with her. Who knows how good a guardian she would be?

Toushirou turned the corner. His house was the fifth one on his street. That's only way he could tell which house was his. They all looked alike, and everyone's cars were tucked away neatly in their garage. It was too dark to see his house numbers so he got there strictly by memory.

_Crunch…crinch-crunch…_ Toushirou looked down and realized that his roommate had forgotten to rake the leaves. Again.

* * *

_Well...not much for this author to note about. So...don't forget to review and all that._


	7. Bonding

_Yea! Seven chapters and still going strong!_

_**Totally awesome reviewers** (hee hee I said "totally awesome")  
Armageddon Angel  
HitsugayaLover  
Nameless Little Girl  
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waiting-for-a-certain-someone  
k i n d h a l o  
_

**_Chapter Seven_**  
"Toushirou!" Momo waved. Toushirou grinned and got up from the school wall. It was so early in the morning that the school gates were still closed.

"What're you doing here? Toushirou asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I asked first."

"So?"

Toushirou sighed. Momo acted really childish for someone in her second year of high school.

"I don't know. I like being alone in the mornings, when it's cold but still light outside."

"Well, I always run around the school a few times. It's my exercise, because I never really do anything in Gym." Momo shrugged. "And since you want to be alone…"

Toushirou pulled up from the wall. "No! I mean… I'll go with you. Just sitting here is getting kind of boring, anyway."

"Sure. C'mon." Momo turned right and waved over Toushirou just before she disappeared around the corner. "I usually go this way."

Toushirou ran to catch up with Momo. They walked while Toushirou caught his breath, which really didn't take that long.

Momo pushed open a squeaky gate. "I don't run around the entire school. I cut through right here. They never lock this gate. That was a problem last year because we were in a prank war with Mashiba High." Momo skipped in. Toushirou went in after her hesitantly.

"Are we supposed to be in here?"

"Maybe… Hey! I know!" Momo said quickly to change the subject. "Why don't I give you tour? You have disadvantage because you didn't go to freshmen orientation."

"You haven't addressed the issue at hand—"

"Great!" Momo grabbed Toushirou's hand and tugged him along. "Welcome, people of all ages, to the Karakura High Tour. Please, no picture taking. Turn off all phones while the tour is going on. Keep hands and feet in the vehicle at all times."

Toushirou stuffed his hands in his pocket.

"Let's go!" Momo winked and hopped away. "First stop: the cafeteria!"

"Cafeteria? We _have_ one of those?"

"Yup! You didn't know?"

"No, Ichigo and Rukia sort of dragged me to the roof with out me getting a good look of the place."

"There's nothin' much in there." Momo pointed vaguely at a metal door. A big dumpster filled and surrounded with trash bags guarded the door. "It's just the place we have most of our dances. All they serve is rice, bread, and juice. The seniors and freshies eat there."

"Freshies?"

"Freshmen, _duh_."

"I got that, but what kind of nickname is _freshies_?"

"If it bothers too much, I'll say freshmen from now on. On with the tour." Momo replaced her regular voice with a business-like voice an octave lower. "If you notice, the door has no handle. This is to make sure nobody can open the door from the outside. The lunch ladies have a problem with that, because they have to rush and put the trash outside and run back in to beat the door."

Toushirou sighed. "The school's probably open by now."

"Are you saying I'm taking too long? Than, _fine_, hurry up! Let's go!" Toushirou's hand were still in his pockets, but Momo was satisfied with grabbing him by his shirt.

"That's the library door! That's the tennis court! That's the pool, the soccer field, the track, the baseball field…" Momo said in a rush. Her business-like voice disappeared.

"Momo! Stop!" Toushirou was running to keep up with Momo. Not because he was really interested in the tour, but because he wanted his shirt intact.

Momo pushed through the gate. The gate swung wildly and slammed closed, almost hitting Toushirou.

"Momo, are you mad? All I said was one thing. The school's probably open now, because I _thought_ it was true." Toushirou looked at Momo with raised eyebrows. "Do you always have such a temper?"

"No…not always. Just when I'm really stressed out about something. Like…the closet."

_Oh…my…god. Run, Toushirou! Deny everything! Scream! Pretend your dead!_

"Well…for one thing…how could they forge about us like that. Am I that boring! I mean, I know my mind was wandering during the party, but, really, am I really so forgettable?"

"Oh…good…" Toushirou sighed and wiped his brow.

"Eh?"

"Nothing."

"Alright, I must be hearing things…" Momo paused for a second, waiting for the voice to come back. When it didn't, she continued. "I came up with a list of things we can do to make sure it never happens again."

"Would of those things be 'don't go to anymore parties'?"

"I didn't think of that," Momo said thoughtfully. Toushirou refrained from telling her he was joking. "I did think that maybe we should go out for clubs or something. We have to be more active. If we're the life of the party, the party wouldn't be fun without us. They would never lock us in the closet."

"Or maybe they'll all just go home earlier."

"You don't like my idea? I thought it was good."

"Well…it makes _sense_."

Momo looked at Toushirou with her brows furrowed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Toushirou was pulled into something that could be taken as a very wide alley.

"This is where, Renji, Izuru, and Hisagi usually hang out."

"Oh."

"I used to hang out with them on the regular, but we sort of drifted apart. I'm still friends them, of course."

"Who's your best friend?"

"I don't know. Rukia…maybe. But she's Renji's best friend. It's possible to have two best friends and all— Hey! I know! Why don't we be best friends Toushirou?" Momo grabbed hold of Toushirou's hand again."

"Uh…" Toushirou's eye twitched. Toushirou didn't have a clue as to how to answer her. He wasn't even sure what she was talking about and how they got here in their conversation.

"Perfect! Now I have _two_ best friends, like Rukia!" Momo gave Toushirou a hug. Toushirou fell back against the wall. Momo let go of him as he proceeded to fall. "Oh, even more wonderful! We're at the friendship wall!" Momo began to examine the wall, leaving Toushirou to pick himself up. "This is how I met Tatsuki, which in result helped me meet most of my other friends. Like Ryou, Michiru, and Chizuru."

Toushirou said nothing, still stunned by the sudden best friend proclamation.

"Help me up," Momo instructed him. Toushirou held out his hands and Momo stood in them. She wobbled unsteadily, and she held onto the wall for support. She hit different bricks, until she felt one move. She pulled this brick out.

"Wow! I still have some stuff in here! Toushirou, hold this for me."

"Okay, but there's no guarantee I won't drop you in the process."

"Never mind. I'm coming down." Momo put the brick back in place. She jumped and Toushirou caught her, bride-style.

"Look! Pencils, paper, Chappy the Rabbit stationary! I can't believe this stuff is still here," Momo said after Toushirou had put her down. "I used to use that place as storage."

"How'd the wall get to be so…broken?"

"I don't really know. This wall's been like that sense we were kids. When Rukia and I were seven, we used that nook up there to hide secret notes. Rukia would write something down and put it behind that loose brick and I would come, read the note, and answer it."

"How did you get up there?"

"There used to be a statue here of a horse with children all around it. The children's heads made perfect stairs and I stood on the horse when I got up there. It's all broken now, so they threw it away. Anyway, one day, I sent a message to Rukia. Tatsuki saw me put something behind the brick. She went up there and intercepted the message."

"So, Rukia didn't get the message?"

"Nope. I met Tatsuki in the park instead of Rukia. I didn't leave or anything and we talked the entire day. The next day, I realized she was actually in my class." Momo giggled. "So that's the end of the tour, complete with a long story about the exhibits."

Toushirou stepped away from the wall. He brushed imaginary dirt from his shoulders and head.

"Toushirou," Momo asked, as they walked around the corner toward the front gate. "What are you doing after school today?"

Toushirou mentally checked his schedule. "Nothing."

"Good! Would you like to go to American Burger?"

"American…Burger?" _That's an…interesting name._

"Yeah. Ichigo was probably going to ask you anyway. There aren't going to be that many people there. Isane and Kiyone volunteer at the hospital. Ishida and Orihime are at a club meeting. Hisagi and Izuru work at the Stop-and-Go, a convenience store-slash-gas pump. Ryou is studying with Chad. Soifon is helping Ukitake-sensei with school papers. Mizuiro has a date and Keigo got banned form eating there because he continued to harass waitresses. So that leaves… Renji, Rukia, Ichigo, Tatsuki, me... and hopefully you." Momo smiled. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah that sounds great and— oh…no." Toushirou groaned. "I forgot my lunch again."

"Again? That's happened before?"

"Yeah, the day of the party."

"You didn't have dinner _or_ lunch? If you had told, I would have scavenging in more coat pockets. But, don't worry, everybody will give you a piece of his or her lunch. There'll be enough food for everyone. It'll be like a potluck or something. And…you can eat at American Burger as well. Rukia will pay for you! I'll help, though Rukia probably won't need any money."

"You've got it wrong, Momo, I'm not poor…" Toushirou started, but Momo was already running toward the gate. Renji and Hanatarou stood near it, while Rukia sat happily on top of the wall.

* * *

_**American Burger, 4:34 PM**_

"Hanatarou!" Rukia called. "We'd like to order now!"

"_Hai_! I'll be right with you!" Hanatarou rushed to the booth where six of his hungry friends sat. He placed a bright yellow ticket on the table that had the number 4 written in red. He was wearing orange slacks, a pale yellow shirt, a paper hat, and a soft blue apron. This was the uniform the waiters were all supposed to wear. "But, you know…you guys are supposed to go up there to order."

"Aww, c'mon. Why bother have us walk all the way over there when you're already here?" Ichigo reasoned.

"I didn't think of it that way…What you guys like to eat?"

"Hanatarou!" Rukia scolded. "Don't let them take advantage you!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ichigo, go up there and order properly for us!" Rukia pinched Ichigo on the arm. Right about now, Ichigo was probably regretting his choice to sit next to Rukia.

"Why do I have to do it!"

"Because you're a gentlemen."

"Then, why doesn't Renji do it?"

"Ichigo," Momo said softly. "It makes perfect sense, because you're sitting on the outside of the booth."

"Tatsuki's sitting on the outside, too!"

"_Oi_, Ichigo! You don't have to put me in this! Go get our food!"

Toushirou sunk in his seat. The other people in the restaurant were starting to watch the exchange, and it wouldn't be long before they got kicked out of the restaurant. This was all too embarrassing. Toushirou quietly pulled out paper and a pen from his backpack. He scribbled a note to Hanatarou on it and slid it across the table.

"Ah! No need to fight! Just tell me what you want, and I'll go get it!" Hanatarou sweated nervously. "What's this?" Hanatarou murmured as he received the message. He picked it up and read it, while Tatsuki and Ichigo fought with Rukia jumping in a few times.

_Hanatarou—_

_I apologize for this, but I would really like for you to get our food. Sneak away as quietly as possible. Ichigo and Tatsuki are dangerous. No sudden movements._

Underneath Toushirou's warning, there was a list of all the food the kids wanted to eat. At least, what Toushirou guessed they would like to eat.

"Um…I'll be going now!" Hanatarou said. He backed away slowly and darted into the kitchen. The feuding teens didn't notice.

"Ichigo! Why do you have to be so lazy?" Rukia shouted.

"Lazy? I'm not lazy! I'm tired. Why don't you get the food, Tatsuki?"

"I don't have a good memory. I won't remember what everyone orders!"

They continued on like this for awhile. The table soon quieted down and everyone sat in angry silence. Neither Tatsuki nor Ichigo budged.

"If Ichigo doesn't order our food, we just won't eat."

"If Tatsuki doesn't stop being lazy, we'll starve." The two glared at each other, each waiting for the other to crack and go order the food.

"Ichigo, move! I'll get the food." Rukia sighed.

"No need!" Hanatarou said. "Thank you for waiting! To the customers with ticket number four, here's four hamburgers, two hotdogs, two mocha milk shakes, one strawberry milkshake, three chocolate milkshakes, one order of chili cheese fries, and six pickles." Hanatarou placed the variety of foods on the table in front of the kids. He put the fries in the middle, as were the instructions written in the message.

"What the…" Tatsuki murmured.

"How…?" Ichigo scratched his head.

"Son of a…" Rukia gasped.

Toushirou grabbed his hamburger and mocha milkshake while the others merely stared at the food. He happily took have the chomped on half of the chili cheese fries. He was starving, and he wasn't about to let this food go to waste.

* * *

_**Outside American Burger, 6:02 PM**_

"Later, Toushirou!"

"Bye, Rukia."

"See ya later, Toushirou!"

"Later, Tatsuki."

"Don't hurt yourself, Toushirou."

"Same with you, Renji."

Toushirou turned and walked east on the dark street, which was, coincidentally, the exact opposite way every one else was going.

"Hey, Toushirou!" Momo jumped on Toushirou's back. "You didn't say good-bye to me!"

"And for that, I deserved a glomping?"

"I needed to get your attention." Momo shrugged.

"For what?"

"I don't know…"

Toushirou began walking again.

"Hey! Wait!"

"You're wasting my time."

"I have a question."

"What?"

"I'm wearing a skirt today."

"You are aware that isn't a question, right?"

"My question is this: when you lifted me up earlier today so I could search behind the brick, did you just so happen to look up my skirt?"

"Wha-wha-what type of question is that?"

* * *

_**A/N:** Terribly sorry...I have a horrid habit of stopping my chapters suddenly like that. I've promised myself I'll stop, but I also have a horrid habit of breaking promises._

_Why is the restauraunt called American Burger? ...Good question... Actually, I watced a Bleach OVA, and that's where Hanatarou was working. I thought Hanatarou looked cute in the orange outfit, so he's working there full-time in my story. But...I really don't know why **they** decided to call it American Burger. It's not that great a name..._

_I'd be very happy if you all would review. So review. Please. Now. _


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